Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-11-25

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Rellying to the rear.
army, either in march or battle. [
take no credit for the fact. The plain.
Nsimple duty of the soldier under arms
MS at the front, where the fighting is
likely to occur; and the soldier who
vas not at the front at such q time has
gpt an explanation to make as to why
he was not there.
Yet, disorderly and ill-managed and
weak against any attack Of the enemy
as was the rear of most Of our armies
in the field, l suppose it could bear no
comparison to the aspect of things in
the rear during the progress OF a heavy
battle.
Practically, = know little of this,
either. But have heard much from
comrades who had right to be in the
rear at such times as to the dishearten-
ing appearance of affairs, and what
saw ut the front will account for some
thing OF the disgraceful state of things
that was visible in the rear while q
battle was going on. There is nothing
about my experience that was out OF
the common order. Thousands Of vet
Grams shared it, and will checrfully
verify my words.
The business of the soldier is to kill
the enemy. He is clothed, fed, and
paid by the Government; he is drilled
and instructed; lie marches and coun-
termarches for hundreds OF miles, and
finally gets into a battle. There, his
simple, stern duty is to kill the enemy.
He is to obey his officers, and do all
the killing that he possibly can.
II every soldier acted on this princi-
pie and conviction OF duty, wars would
be much longer and much bloodier
than they are. Even the wonderful
modern improvements in firearms and
ordnance would not avail against an
army, every unit of which was deter
mined to fight till victory was gained,
or until he was put hors dA combat.
In every army that was ever brought
into the field since firearms were in
vented (back OF that it is not ncces-
sary to go) there was large percent
age Of soldiers who would not fight if
they got chance to run. It was SO on
both sides during our war; the records
OF all European wars show the same
fact. 1 have read every account of the
battle of Waterloo that l can find,
and presume that / have something
more than the average knowledge OF
this generation as to the momentous
conflict It is the battle above all
others upon which Englishmen pride
themselves; yet l will maintain that in
no battle OF the rebellion were there
as many stragglers and skulks from the
Union army, as there were on that day
in the rear of the allied armies, which
by mere accident snatched the vic
tory from Napoleon. No, not even at
Shiloh or Cedar Greek, which are gen
orally cited as conspicuous instances of
Union decentralization.
1t does not require q panic to take
men from the field of battle, if they
are able to get away. Some men have
no fight in them, and will always take
advantage OF the first opportunity to
go to the rear. These are the men who
by Their numbers have often caused
report to be sent from the rear that the
battle was lost.
An illustration occurs to me- At
Sherilan's battle Of Winchester, Sep
TENDER 10, 1864, though for an hour
after the opening Of the fight things
looked serious for us in the center,
and we knew that there was host of
our fugitives at the rear, yet l know
that there was never an hour or a mo-
ment when the fighters at the front
despaired of the day, or did not feel
able and willing to stand up against
all the force that the Confederates could
bring against us. The result, as all
know, was q splendid Union victory.
Three months afterward, Captain
George d. Wells, OF the One Hundred
and Seventy-third New York, told me
what he saw in the rear at enc o'clock.
He was Assistant Quartermaster, in
charge of the train of the First Divi-
sion, Nineteenth Army Corps, and
therefore was in his proper place. He
said that the rush of fugitives through
the woods, with arms and without
arms, was SO great that he despaired of
the battle. 1t looked to him as if
Sheridan's whole army was breaking to
pieces.
Major B. w. Crowninshield, of the
Massachusetts Cavalry, on Sheridan's
staff, writes me of the scenes in the
rear at Winchester: 81 know that
General Sheridan and had more than
we could do to rally an immense mob
of soldiers running to the rear. It
looked very much like q disaster from
where we saw them swarming out of
the woods to the rear"
So it looked to officers who had a
right to be at the rear on that great
day, and L presume that Sheridan